A parkour school founded, owned, and operated by passionate parkour practitioners
In September 2006, Apex School of Movement was established as the first formal parkour training program in the western hemisphere by Ryan Ford in Boulder, Colorado. As one of the first practitioners in the USA, Ryan was forced to self-learn parkour through trial and error. As more people got into parkour, Ryan started teaching others to train more safely and effectively than he had early on.
Over the years, many prominent local practitioners became instrumental in the evolution of Apex including Amos Rendao, Brandon Douglass, Dylan Baker, Justin Clark, Jake Smith, Erica Madrid, Mason Fleet, Renae Dambly, Dante Grazioli, Michael Sliger, Seth Wang, Kristine Dietrich, Olof Wood, and Rob Schihl. Apex also became the foundational network of curriculum and testing facilities for ParkourEDU.org, the world’s foremost online educational program for parkour.
The most fun you'll have becoming fit
Parkour was in every one of us as a kid; jumping off swings, climbing trees, and hopping over cracks in the sidewalk. We encourage you to rediscover the creative, natural movement that you loved when you were 5 years old.
Training with us is fun and feels more like playing than exercising. Because of this, you’ll keep coming back for more. Through our programs, you’ll keep moving your body in challenging new ways and gaining valuable strength and mobility needed to live a long, healthy life.
Led by world-class coaches & athletes
All of our coaches are required to complete our 175+ hour certification program and to constantly progress their own training, education, and exploration of all movement arts. Our coaches are continually at the forefront of developing the most innovative and effective training methods including Amos Rendao’s Parkour Ukemi (the art of falling) and Ryan Ford’s book Parkour Strength Training. Whether you’re looking for fun, fitness, or performance, our coaches will help you achieve your goals. Learn more about our coaches here.
In addition, newbies and pros can train at Apex side-by-side with our top athletes who have been featured in TV shows and movies, performed internationally, dominated American Ninja Warrior, and competed in Red Bull’s Art of Motion.
A fun-loving community
Our philosophy
Words such as “gym,” “exercise,” and “fitness” have taken on negative meanings. Exercise should not mean suffering through 30 minutes on a stationary bike, only made bearable by the TV on the wall and the headphones over your ears. A gym should not be a dreadful place, easily erased from your schedule by the slightest excuse. And fitness is not only for the bodybuilding magazine model or the elite athlete. Instead, we aim to inspire fitness at its purest roots, movement.
Think back to when you were a kid, jumping off benches and climbing trees for fun. Fitness used to be fun and natural, something we achieved without consciously trying. Fitness is for everyone, no matter what your goals are. Movement is the foundation of any physically fit lifestyle.
Through innovative movement training, we help people achieve a broad, all-around fitness. We coach people to excel in their chosen athletics, we inspire people to become more physically active through play, and we help people attain their fitness goals through natural exercise. There is something for everyone along at least one of these three paths to fitness; Athletics, Play, and EXercise. With these three paths, we are APEX; useful fitness through natural movement.